Teach students about disability rights activist Judy Heumann and what work in schools and communities still remains.
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Teach students about Bellen Woodard, how she became a "crayon activist," and how they can change something they think is unjust.
Civics Lesson
GRADE LEVEL: High School What is privilege? How does privilege impact the criminal justice system?
On August 9, 2014, Michael Brown, an unarmed 18-year-old Black teenager, was shot and killed by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri. The officer was not indicted. The story captured the attention of the nation and the media, and in many ways became the beginning of the Black Lives Matter movement. Many stories like this occurred in the following years and continued…
GRADE LEVEL: High School
COMMON CORE STANDARDS: Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening, Language
SEL STANDARDS*: Self-Awareness, Social Awareness, Relationship Skills, Responsible Decision-Making Georgia's Restrictive Voting Law (SB 202)
In March 2021, the Georgia State Legislature passed a major law (SB 202) that restricts and suppresses voting across the state. Democrats, voting rights groups and other advocates criticized and condemned the law, saying it limits voting rights…
Civics Lesson
GRADE LEVEL: High School How Were Youth Involved in the Civil Rights Movement?
Throughout history, young people have stepped up and into leadership roles during different civil rights and social movements. This was never more evident than in the Civil Rights Movement, where young people were on the frontlines of the Montgomery bus boycotts, Freedom Rides and sit-ins. Given that student activism is on the rise again across the U.S., understanding how those young voices…
Civics Lesson
GRADE LEVEL: High School What is “Hashtag Activism”?
In What Ways Does “Hashtag Activism” Help and Hinder Social Movements?
#MeToo, #BlackLivesMatter, #IceBucketChallenge, #ThisIsOurLane and so many other hashtags are appearing on Twitter and various social media sites. With every hashtag posted, webs of content are created and individual voices are connected. For some people, their activism begins and ends with the use of a hashtag. For others…
Civics Lesson
GRADE LEVEL: High School What are Human Rights?
What is the Universal Declaration of Human Rights?
In 1946, in the immediate aftermath of World War II, with hopes of preventing future atrocities, an international committee with varied legal and cultural backgrounds began to draft the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). The UDHR was proclaimed by the new United Nations General Assembly in 1948. This document contains 30 Articles that set a standard…
Civics Lesson
GRADE LEVEL: High School How Has the Media Responded to My Social Justice Issue?
Our current world offers a seemingly endless stream of media, from news stories to blog posts, Instagram feeds to social media memes, and more. Some media from news sites is fact-based straight reporting or opinion pieces advocating a particular point of view. Other pieces are thought provoking nonfiction informing us about our own communities, or places on the other side of the world. In…
GRADE LEVEL: Middle School, High School
COMMON CORE STANDARDS: Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening, Language
SEL STANDARDS*: Self-Awareness, Social Awareness, Relationship Skills, Responsible Decision-Making President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris
On November 7, 2020, it was announced that Joe Biden and his running mate Kamala Harris won the 2020 Presidential election. Biden won with the most votes ever cast for a U.S. Presidential…
GRADE LEVEL: High School COMMON CORE STANDARDS: Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening, Language The Origins of the Electoral College
The Electoral College, the process by which Presidential races are ultimately decided, is the subject of ongoing debate and controversy. The Electoral College always decides the outcome of the Presidential election, but five times in our history and two times in the last five elections, the Electoral College selected a president who did not win the majority…
GRADE LEVEL: High School
COMMON CORE STANDARDS: Reading, Speaking and Listening, Language Brief History of the Youth Vote
During every election cycle, the “youth vote” captures the attention of pollsters, political reporters, those running for office, and young adults themselves. In 1971, with the ratification of the 26th Amendment, the voting age was lowered from 21 to 18. The following year, in 1972, 52% of young people between the ages of 18 and 21 voted in the…
GRADE LEVEL: High School
COMMON CORE STANDARDS: Reading, Writing, Speaking & Listening, Language The Nineteenth Amendment to the Constitution granted women the right to vote and was ratified on August 18, 1920.
Women's Suffrage Movement: Seeking the Right to Vote
Suffrage is the right or privilege of voting. In 1848, hundreds of mostly women and some men attended the first woman's rights convention in Seneca Falls, N.Y. to “discuss the social, civic and religious condition…
Civics Lesson
GRADE LEVEL: High School What is ‘Fake News’ and How Can We Identify it on Social Media?
What is Our Role and Responsibility to Identify and Stop the Spread of Fake News?
The term “fake news” refers to misinformation that presents false, inaccurate, or intentionally misleading information in news stories, current events and other issues. Many of these stories are spread through online sites and social media platforms that…
Engage students in reflecting on some of the underlying problems and issues that emerged from these cases involving police use of force, undertaking research and presenting viable solutions.
GRADE LEVEL: Middle School, High School COMMON CORE STANDARDS: Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening, Language SEL STANDARDS*: Social Awareness, Relationship Skills, Responsible Decision-Making Expressions of Justice through Poetry
Throughout our nation’s history, poetry and song have been used to express thoughts and feelings about injustice and to envision a world where freedom, fairness and justice are universal for all.
Amanda Gorman, Youngest Inaugural Poet
During…
GRADE LEVEL: High School
COMMON CORE STANDARDS: Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening, Language Reflections of Biased Incidents in Basketball and White Privilege
In April 2019, Kyle Korver, a U.S. professional basketball player who plays with the Utah Jazz, wrote an essay on racism and white privilege that received a lot of acclaim and attention. In the essay, Korver, who is white, reflects on several biased incidents involving his African-American teammates and his…
Teach students about the U.S. women’s soccer team’s lawsuit against the U.S. Soccer Federation and explore how sexism manifests in a variety of ways in women’s sports.
Teach students about Black Lives Matter and the activists involved.
Explore with students the letters between Riley Morrison and Steph Curry and reflect on an experience with bias by writing a persuasive letter.
Teach students about the migrant caravan and understand what political asylum is, reflecting on the people’s stories and situations.